hand

The portion of the upper limb distal to the radiocarpal joint, comprising the wrist, palm, and fingers. SYN: manus [TA], main. [A.S.]

- accoucheur h. position of the h. in tetany or in muscular dystrophy; the fingers are flexed at the metacarpophalangeal joints and extended at the phalangeal joints, with the thumb flexed and adducted into the palm; in resemblance to the position of the physician's h. in making a vaginal examination. SYN: obstetric h..

- ape h. a deformity marked by extension of the thumb in the same plane as the palm and fingers. SYN: monkey h., monkey-paw.

- claw h. clawhand.

- cleft h. a congenital deformity in which the division between the fingers, especially between the third and fourth, extends into the metacarpal region. SEE ALSO: lobster-claw deformity. SYN: split h..

- club h. congenital or acquired angulation deformity of h. associated with partial or complete absence of radius or ulna; usually with intrinsic deformities of the h. in congenital variants.

- crab h. SYN: erysipeloid.

- dorsum of h. [TA] the back of the h.. SYN: dorsum manus [TA].

- drop h. SYN: wrist-drop.

- ghoul h. a condition seen in African blacks, probably a manifestation of tertiary yaws, marked by depigmentation of the palms and contraction of the skin which give a clawlike and corpselike appearance to the hands.

- Marinesco succulent h. edema of the h. with coldness and lividity of the skin, observed in syringomyelia. SYN: main succulente.

- monkey h. SYN: ape h..

- obstetric h. SYN: accoucheur h..

- opera-glass h. a deformity of the h. seen in chronic absorptive arthritis, the fingers and wrists being shortened and the covering skin wrinkled into transverse folds; the phalanges appear to be retracted into one another like an opera glass or miniature telescope.

- simian h. deformity in which there is flattening of the thenar eminence, and the thumb lies adducted and extended; usually due to a median nerve lesion.

- skeleton h. extension of fingers with atrophy of tissues; occurs in progressive muscular atrophy.

- spade h. the coarse, thick, square h. of acromegaly or myxedema.

- split h. SYN: cleft h..

- trident h. a h. in which the fingers are of nearly equal length and deflected at the first interphalangeal joint, so as to give a forklike shape; seen in achondroplasia.

- writing h. a contraction of the h. muscles in parkinsonism, bringing the fingers somewhat into the position of holding a pen.

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hand 'hand n, often attrib

1 a ) (1) the terminal part of the vertebrate forelimb when modified (as in humans) as a grasping organ (2) the forelimb segment (as the terminal section of a bird's wing) of a vertebrate higher than the fishes that corresponds to the hand irrespective of its form or functional specialization

b) a part serving the function of or resembling a hand esp the hind foot of an ape

c) something resembling a hand esp an indicator or pointer on a dial

2) a unit of measure equal to 4 inches or 10.2 centimeters used esp. for the height of horses

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n.

the terminal organ of the upper limb. From a surgical point of view, the human hand comprises the eight bones of the carpus (wrist), the five metacarpal bones, and the phalangeal bones plus the surrounding tissues; anatomically, the bones and tissues of the wrist are excluded. The hand is a common site of infections and injuries, many of which are of industrial origin for which compensation may be claimed.

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(hand) the distal region of the upper limb, including the carpus, metacarpus, and digits. In official terminology, called manus.